Filemon Vela Jr.
Filemon Vela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 34th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Filemon Bartolome Vela Jr. February 13, 1963 Harlingen, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Rose Vela |
| Relatives | Blanca Vela (mother) Filemon Vela Sr. (father) |
| Education | Georgetown University (B.A.) University of Texas at Austin (J.D.) |
| Website | House website |
Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. /ˈfɪləˌmɒn ˈvɛlə/ (born February 13, 1963)[1] is an American lawyer and politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Texas's 34th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Contents
Early life, education, and law career[edit]
Vela was born in Harlingen, Texas and raised in Brownsville, Texas. His father, Filemon Bartolome Vela Sr., was a long-serving United States federal judge. The Reynaldo G. Garza-Filemon B. Vela United States Courthouse in Brownsville is named in Judge Vela's honor. His mother, Blanca Sanchez Vela, served as Brownsville's first female mayor from 1999 to 2003.[2][3][4]
Filemon attended Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, Texas, and went on to receive his B.A. degree from Georgetown University in 1985. During his time at Georgetown, he served as an intern at the Federal Judicial Center – the research and education agency of the federal judicial system. He also served as an intern in Congressman Solomon P Ortiz's Washington, D.C. office. Vela earned his J.D. degree from University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1987.[2]
In Edinburg School District v. Landmark, Vela represented Edinburg to fight for more funding. In Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District v. Landmark, he represented the district in fighting contractors accused of building a poorly constructed school facility.[5][better source needed]
U.S. House of Representatives[edit]
2012 election[edit]
Vela decided to run in the newly created Texas's 34th congressional district as a Democrat. In the May 29 primary, Vela ranked first in an eight-candidate field with 40% of the vote.[6] In the July 31 run-off primary, Vela defeated Denise Saenz Blanchard, 67% to 33%.[7][8]
In the general election, Vela defeated Republican Jessica Bradshaw 62% to 36%.[9]
Tenure[edit]
In July 2013, Vela quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus because of his opposition to the Hoeven-Corker Amendment that tied border security to a pathway to citizenship. He said "erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united".[10][11]
Committee assignments[edit]
Caucus memberships[edit]
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus[12]
- Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus[13]
- Veterinary Medicine Caucus[14]
- U.S.-Japan Caucus[15]
Personal life[edit]
Vela's wife, Rose, was a Republican justice on Texas' 13th Court of Appeals from 2007 to 2012.[16]
See also[edit]
- List of Hispanic Americans in the United States Congress
- Final Report of the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel
References[edit]
- ^ Hopkins, Christopher Snow. "Texas, 34th House District". nationaljournal.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
- ^ a b vela.house.gov
- ^ Johnson, Ty (2014-02-18). "Former Brownsville mayor, feminist 'trailblazer' Blanca Vela dies at 78". The Monitor (Texas). Retrieved 2014-03-13.
- ^ "Brownsville's former and only female mayor, Blanca Vela, passes away". KVEO. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
- ^ "Full Biography". Vela.house.gov. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
- ^ "Ourcampaigns.com". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
- ^ "Ourcampaigns.com". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
- ^ http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/july31_163_state.htm
- ^ "TX-TopRaces-Glance-Sum". kxxv.com. Retrieved 8 November 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Martin, Gary (2013-07-02). "Rep. Filemon Vela quits Congressional Hispanic Caucus to protest lawmakers' acceptance of border 'militarization' - Texas on the Potomac". Blog.chron.com. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
- ^ "Filemon Vela quits Hispanic caucus over border surge - Seung Min Kim". Politico.Com. 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
- ^ "Members". Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ "Members". Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- ^ "Members of the Veterinary Medicine Caucus". Veterinary Medicine Caucus. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Sanchez, Humberto. "113th Congress: Filemon Vela, D-Texas (34th District)". public.cq.com. Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Filemon Vela Jr.. |
- Congressman Filemon Vela
- Filemon Vela for Congress
- Filemon Vela at Curlie
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New constituency |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 34th congressional district 2013–present |
Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by Marc Veasey |
United States Representatives by seniority 230th |
Succeeded by Ann Wagner |
- 1963 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- American politicians of Mexican descent
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Georgetown University alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- People from Harlingen, Texas
- Texas Democrats
- Texas lawyers
- University of Texas School of Law alumni
